Legacy preferences

Legacy preference or legacy admission is a preference given by an institution or organization to certain applicants on the basis of their familial relationship to alumni of that institution. (Students so admitted are referred to as legacies or legacy students.) This particularly refers to university and college admission, and this preference is most common in admission to American universities and colleges and emerged after World War I, primarily in response to the resulting immigrant influx. The Ivy League institutions are estimated to admit 10% to 30% of each entering class using this factor. Legacy preference is not strictly limited to college admissions, however; it may also come about with regard to admission into collegiate fraternities and sororities and other fraternal organizations such as Freemasonry. Legacy preferences are generally not allowed in Europe.

Former Harvard University president Lawrence Summers has stated, "Legacy admissions are integral to the kind of community that any private educational institution is." In the 1998 book The Shape of the River: Long-Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions, authors William G. Bowen, former Princeton University president, and Derek Bok, former Harvard University president, found "the overall admission rate for legacies was almost twice that for all other candidates." While the preference is quite common in elite universities and liberal arts colleges, it is quite controversial, with 75% of Americans opposing the preference.

Legacy preferences

Legacy preference or legacy admission is a preference given by an institution or organization to certain applicants on the basis of their familial relationship to alumni of that institution. (Students so admitted are referred to as legacies or legacy students.) This particularly refers to university and college admission, and this preference is most common in admission to American universities and colleges and emerged after World War I, primarily in response to the resulting immigrant influx. The Ivy League institutions are estimated to admit 10% to 30% of each entering class using this factor. Legacy preference is not strictly limited to college admissions, however; it may also come about with regard to admission into collegiate fraternities and sororities and other fraternal organizations such as Freemasonry. Legacy preferences are generally not allowed in Europe.

Former Harvard University president Lawrence Summers has stated, "Legacy admissions are integral to the kind of community that any private educational institution is." In the 1998 book The Shape of the River: Long-Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions, authors William G. Bowen, former Princeton University president, and Derek Bok, former Harvard University president, found "the overall admission rate for legacies was almost twice that for all other candidates." While the preference is quite common in elite universities and liberal arts colleges, it is quite controversial, with 75% of Americans opposing the preference.

Latest News for: legacy admissions

Fewer still give a clear accounting of how legacy status is factored into admissions decisions beyond saying it’s a “positive supplement” or one component in a holistic review. How much does it help students’ chances for admission to be a legacy? The ......

But who thought the admissions craze had become so powerful that it had morphed into outright fraud and corruption? Not me ... To the highest bidder go the admissions places ... The award of admissions spots would be strictly determined by the price offered ... “Legacy” admissions preferences for the children of alumni would also be eliminated....

... seeking admission into elite colleges is even worse than we previously understood.” ... These universities have instituted policies such as legacyadmissions, which overlook talented students from diverse backgrounds who are often the first in their families to attend college....

Preferential treatment for both donors and legacy students has long allowed for inherent biases within the college admissions system. Now, in addition to these inequities, we are faced with unprincipled ... ....

The 50 people who federal prosecutors allege took part in a college-admissions cheating scheme involving some of America’s most prestigious universities put a new spin on an injustice that’s been dogging Ivy League schools and other institutions for generations ... And guess what? Legacy enrollees tend to be rich and white....

Last week news broke of a major college admissions scandal, in which wealthy parents bribed a path for their sons and daughters into elite institutions ... Those factors might include varsity-level athletic ability, a well-written admissions essay, or being a “legacy” — which means a close relative also attended that school....

Wealth influences a student’s education well before college application season The bribery scandal has been a clear reminder that low-income students and students of color are far less likely to benefit from legacyadmissions or inherited wealth, putting them at a disadvantage when it comes to competing to get into elite schools....

And at the coaches who pocketed bribes to recruit kids they knew could never play a game ... One. Legacyadmissions—by which the sons and daughters of graduates get, according to one study, a 45-percentage-point boost in admissions rates compared with equally qualified students who are not—privileges the already privileged. It is unjust ... Two ... Break it. ....

But who thought the admissions craze had become so powerful that it had morphed into outright fraud and corruption? Not me ... To the highest bidder go the admissions places ... The award of admissions spots would be strictly determined by the price offered ... “Legacy” admissions preferences for the children of alumni would also be eliminated....

Grant. Preserving the Civil War’s Legacy,” at 4 p.m ...Admission is free ... The book, released in June 2018, sheds new light on the business of politics in the decade after the Civil War and portrays an energetic and even progressive executive whose legacy has been overshadowed by both his wartime service and his administration’s many scandals ... ....

Meanwhile, huge donations from benefactors and legacies have long been the more conventional way that a parent ensured admission for a son or daughter — at the expense of a student with better academic credentials and who’s worked harder, but whose parents are of modest means and less influential background....

UC says it doesn’t set aside any admissions slots for donors or legacy students — those whose parents attended the university — and audits a random sampling of applications each year to ensure the information submitted is accurate. Regardless, admissions by exception will likely be a focus of UC’s internal investigation into the extent of the fraud....